There are systems which totally manage a number of devices (which are referred to as network devices here, and include personal computers, printers, and the like) connected to a network.
If the network device to be managed is a personal computer (abbreviated as PC), data to be managed may include a diversity of data relating to the PC such as data the PC acquired from the network. If the network device to be managed is a printer, the data to be managed is data relating to the printer such as the amount of ink remaining in the printer. Each network device includes a management-information database that stores data to be managed.
The side managing the network device (hereinafter referred to as a management device) accesses the management-information database (an MIB database) on the network device side using network device management software or an MIB (Management Information Base) browser which is one of tools of the software. The management device thus monitors data (MIB data) to be managed and sets data.
A user who manages the network device using the network device management system acquires a management-information database structure definition file (MIB file) described in a standard format called ASN1 from each device manufacturer to know the structure of the management-information database (MIB database), and converts the file into a format unique to the network device management system to use the file.
The MIB database has a tree structure as shown in FIG. 7. The end of the tree stores data unique to the network device, and the location is designated using an address called an object ID. The above-mentioned MIB file expresses the structure of the MIB database.
The specifications of a network device may be modified, resulting in a change in the structure of the MIB data. The device manufacturer managing the MIB data produces a new MIB file, and supplies a user with the new MIB file. Upon obtaining the new MIB file, the user converts it into a format unique to the network device management system to use the MIB file.
In the conventional network device management system, the MIB file described in the ASN1 format is converted into each manufacturer's own format. No compatibility is allowed between the files of different manufacturers. For this reason, a software program, called MIB browser, dedicated for each manufacturer is required to view the MIB database of the network device.
Each time the specifications of the network device is modified, or the MIB data is updated, the user needs to obtain the latest version of the MIB file, and to convert the obtained MIB file into a format unique to the network device management system.
When the latest MIB file is not available, the user needs to edit the MIB file to make an MIB file responsive to the modification.
When the MIB file is edited, a pre-conversion MIB file (the MIB file prior to the conversion into a format unique to the network device management system) or a post-conversion MIB file (the MIB file subsequent to the conversion into the format unique to the network device management system) may be used for editing. The pre-conversion MIB file complies with the ASN1 which is the world's standard. However, the ASN1 format is too complex to briefly edit. The post-conversion MIB file is a file having a manufacturer's own format into which the ASN1 formatted MIB file is converted, and the structure of the converted file is not known and cannot be edited easily, either.
It is an object of the present invention to permit the MIB file to be flexibly modified through the conversion of a management-information database structure definition file (an MIB file) into data in an ordinary format, and to permit a widely available software program to work as a network device management software program using the MIB file.